Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay briefly redefined his public profile from ruthless Houston Machiavelli to goofy bad dancer. But it’s back to hardball politics now that the Hammer begins his Texas trial on conspiracy and money-laundering charges that could land him in jail for more than 100 years.
The charges against DeLay are serious, if difficult to prove. It does not seem crazy, however, for DeLay to argue that Texas’s liberal oasis of Austin will be a hard place to find an impartial jury.